Speeches

Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of capacity on travel routes from Wrexham to Liverpool for HM Revenue and Customs staff redeployed from Wrexham to Liverpool.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it requires to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

HMRC estimates that Liverpool will be home to between 2,800 and 3,100 full time equivalent employees. Consolidation into the Regional Centre is expected to begin in 2019-20. HMRC plans to open the Regional Centre in Cardiff in 2019-20. It is likely that the office at Plas Gororau in Wrexham will close in 2020-21. HMRC will be holding one-to-one discussions with each of its people to discuss the next steps.